I'll Follow You Into the Dark
by tateandviolet
Summary: Set nearly a year after the FAYZ ended. Lana wound up in a mental hospital after a traumatic event caused her parents to believe she was unstable. One day in the hospital, she gets a visit from someone she hasn't seen since the day the FAYZ came to an end. (Lanjit) *Warning: Self-harm*
1. Chapter 1

Lana Arwen Lazar was sixteen years old. She had survived the FAYZ. Barely.

It had been nearly a year since what was known as the FAYZ came to an end. It took Lana a while to get used to not having to be terrified all the time. She had lost her powers, she was no longer starving, she no longer _needed_ to be afraid. But there was something dark still attached to her. Something that was eating her alive. Chewing on her mind.

Lana knew that the gaiaphage no longer had a connection to her mind. Still... she felt like there was something there anyway. In the back of her mind.

Six months ago Lana had tried to commit suicide.

Well, maybe suicide wasn't quite the right word. Lana didn't think she was trying to kill herself. But that's what the doctors had concluded, and her parents had agreed that there was something still not right about her. And that's how she ended up here, in a mental health facility for young adults.

Lana wasn't trying to kill herself though. She didn't know exactly what she was trying to do. She just wanted to make sure she was really alive. She had to be sure that she was here, now, alive. Awake. She had to make sure this wasn't all just a dream. That she wasn't still trapped in the FAYZ.

So she took a knife from her parents' silverware drawer on night. It was a pretty small knife, probably a knife used to cut vegetables. It had a very sharp point though. She had taken the knife in her hand and stared it down, feeling numb.

She remembered taking the knife with her right hand and placing the very tip of it to her left wrist. She remembered a sharp pain shooting up her left arm and a ringing in her ears. And that's it. She couldn't remember what happened after that until she woke up in the hospital hooked up to an IV. She had lost a lot of blood apparently. Her left arm was stitched up.

She hadn't meant to do it. She thought she would just be able to heal herself. She was The Healer. Lana The Healer. She had the power to heal with her touch.

She had told her parents this and they both agreed that the best thing for Lana was to be locked away, here. In this hell hole.

Lana wasn't crazy, she didn't belong here.

Still, she could not argue against her parents' belief that she needed to get help.

So here she was, sitting alone in her prison cell.

Well, it wasn't exactly a prison cell. It was just a normal bedroom with two twin beds, a bookshelf, a closet, and oh yeah, bars on the windows so no one could escape.

Lana was laying on one of the twin beds (she was lucky enough to get stuck with a roommate) reading a novel when she heard a knock at the door. Reading. That was the most exciting thing she had done all day. There wasn't much to do here. She would have group time in the mornings after breakfast when everyone would sit down together in a circle and talk all about their crazy thoughts and feelings. Lana usually kept quiet about during group. But that didn't stop the stares and murmurings that happened whenever Lana walked into a room.

Yes, even here everyone knew who she was. They had all known about the bubble called the FAYZ. Everyone on the planet knew about that. And Lana was sure that aliens knew about it too. That's what the gaiaphage was anyway. Some kind of alien.

So in here, Lana was some kind of celebrity. This made her avoid people even more. She tried as best she could to ignore the dirty looks, the whispering, everything. Lana behaved as best as she could so she could get out of here as fast as possible. She took her medication every day, never caused any trouble with other patients, said please and thank you and smiled at the nurses.

Lana looked up from her book as she heard the second knock on the door. The door was open, but everyone knocked here, just to be safe.

A nurse was standing in the doorway.

"Lana, how are you feeling today?" She greeted. This is how all of the nurses greeted the patients.

"Good," Lana said. She forced a smile like always. "I'm good."

The nurse nodded. "Well, it looks like you have a visitor today. You'll have to come to the front desk and sign him in."

Visitor? Him? Lana wondered if maybe her dad had taken the day off of work to come and visit her. This was most likely not the case though. Her parents had rarely come to visit since dumping her off here. Grandpa Luke came once... Who else would it be? She no longer had any friends.

Lana set her book down on her night stand and followed the nurse down the hall. Lana stared straight ahead and willed herself not to look in the other patient's rooms as she walked past. She hated making eye contact with the other patients. She hated the stares and the murmurings.

Soon enough they walked around the corner and into an office that was near the front entrance of the building. Another nurse was sitting at the front desk. A young man stood just on the other side of the desk.

"Hey Lana," the boy said.

That voice...

It made her heart crumple inside. It had been so long...

Lana stared in shock at the boy standing just a few feet in front of her. She thought what she was seeing was just a hallucination at first. Seeing him in someone else. It wouldn't be the first time. Lana had seen him everywhere for the past year. Only it was never actually him. Just her mind playing tricks.

But this time her mind wasn't tricking her. There was no denying it as he stood just in front of her. Shoulder length dark hair, dark eyes, tanned skin, cocky smile. She would recognize him anywhere, anytime.

Sanjit.

Lana heaved a sudden, violent sob. In shock. She quickly brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from sobbing out loud.

"I know it's been a while..." Sanjit started. But he didn't get a chance to finish.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Lana was on him before she even knew what she was doing. She hit him on the shoulder. "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP HERE OUT OF THE BLUE AFTER AN ENTIRE YEAR OF SILENCE! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" She hit him again and before she could hit him a third time, she was quickly pulled away by two nurses. One at each arm grabbing and dragging her back.

Sanjit smirked a little. "You haven't changed much..." Then he tried to reassure the nurses. "Hey, hey, hey... It's all right. It's okay. Lana's just in a bit of shock. It's my fault. She didn't know I was coming here." Sanjit looked pityingly at her then. He looked like he was in pain.

Ha! The nerve of him!

He had no right to pity her. He had no right to even be here. If Lana had had her pistol again...

But those were the old days. She wasn't in the FAYZ anymore. She was here now.

Lana sucked in a breath. Here. Now. Not the FAYZ.

Stay calm...

Stay calm...

"Maybe you should just leave," One of the nurses said to him.

Lana quickly calmed herself down. She stopped struggling against the nurses. "No, it's fine," she said. "It's fine. I'm sorry." She knew she had overreacted. But still. She couldn't believe he would just show up here with that smug little smile on his face!

The two nurses looked at Lana suspiciously. Of course. They probably thought she could be a danger to Sanjit.

She probably would be, but she wanted an explanation. She wanted to know why he hadn't tried to contact her at all since the end of the FAYZ. The last day of the FAYZ was the last day she saw Sanjit since today. Right now.

Lana sighed heavily. She said calmly, "He can stay." She met Sanjit's eyes once again. And she felt herself breaking on the inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Lana sat on her bed with her back pressed against the wall. Knees brought up to her chest. Sanjit sat on the second twin bed on the opposite side of the room. Lana didn't want him to come any closer than that. She didn't know what she would do if he got too close. She had already hit him.

Of course she didn't have a pistol like she did in the old days. So shooting him was eliminated from the options...

Now if she had her pistol she would be put in jail instead of this hospital if she pointed it at someone and fired. She couldn't get away with carrying it around like she did back in the days of the FAYZ.

Deep down Lana knew she wouldn't fire it at Sanjit. But boy, did she sure want to point the thing at him. Scare him a little. It was the least he deserved...

Lana recalled an incident where she actually _did_ point her pistol deliberately at Sanjit. It was right after he admitted to taking her cigarettes when they lived together at the Clifftop hotel. It was just a few days shy of the barrier coming down, Lana remembered. Sanjit was only worrying about her health, wanting her to cut down on smoking. But she was addicted, and the cigarettes were part of what kept her sane in the FAYZ. The last thing she needed then was to deal with withdrawal from the nicotine.

Lana shook her head, clearing away the memory.

Sanjit sat calmly with his hands folded together now. His mouth had been pressed into a firm line the past few minutes as they sat here in silence. Now, the smile was back. His warm smile that used to be so familiar to her.

"You know I missed that scowl of yours," he said.

Lana scowled at his comment, but then thought better and let her face relax into a blank expression. "I'm not the same girl you knew," she said quietly.

"Well I figured that. And I'm not the same boy you knew. I'm a man now," he said. Lana couldn't tell if he was trying to joke or not. He still had the smile on his face, but his tone was serious.

"An entire year," she whispered. Her throat was dry and her voice cracked. "You never bothered to try and contact me. Why now?" She kept her face expressionless.

Sanjit's smile disappeared quickly. He sighed. "Lana," he started. She felt a shock run through her veins at the sound of her name on his lips. She quickly ignored that feeling. "I wanted to see you. To talk to you. But I couldn't. My parents... Well, you know them. Jennifer and Todd. Toddifer." He rolled his eyes. "They didn't want their _kids_ anywhere near the press. They didn't think it would be good for us."

"You couldn't even bother a single phone call to me?" Lana asked.

"They wouldn't let me... They took us away. To some island in the Caribbean's. You think they would have learned their lesson by now with islands and all..." He _tsked tsked_, trying to make a joke out of it.

"I didn't know what the hell happened to you," Lana said. "I saw your parents on the news a few days after the FAYZ. They said you guys were safe at your home in Malibu. But then that was it. Nothing else. I didn't know if you were okay. Or if you were..." _Dead_. Lana didn't say it out loud. She couldn't. She knew she would break down if she did.

_I will not be weak_, Lana told herself.

Sanjit stood up and moved across the room. He sat down on the very edge of Lana's bed. Lana flinched at his closeness, but didn't move away. "Don't be stupid, Lana. Did you forget that I'm invincible. I can't be vinced." He smiled his cocky smile again.

Lana rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile a little at the old joke. "That's right..." she said sarcastically. "I guess I did forget." She frowned again. "But I still don't understand. Why now?"

"My "parents,"" he made air quotes around the word parents, "can't control me forever. I finally had enough of them trying to keep me and the kids hidden from the public. We came back to L.A. a few weeks ago and I told them I wanted to see my old friends from the FAYZ again. They said no of course, and I told them to screw off. That they weren't even my real parents. They seemed pretty upset by that and I regret saying that to them, but it needed to be done so I could get them off my back. So after that I hunted you down."

"You hunted me down?" Lana asked suspiciously.

"Yep. I found your parents here in L.A. They wouldn't tell me where you were of course, so I hired a private investigator." He grinned. "And here I am."

"A private investigator? Are you serious?"

He suddenly stood up, ignoring her last statement. "Oh, and I have a surprise for you." He walked over to the small barred-window. "Come here." He motioned for Lana to join him at the window.

Lana just stared at him for a moment. Then, reluctantly, she got up off of the bed and crossed the room to the window. She squinted in the sunlight, and then looked down and saw four small figures outside in the back garden. Lana stared in shock for a moment and then in finally dawned on her who the four figures were. Virtue and Bowie were sitting on a wooden bench while Pixie and Peace chased each other around the rose bushes. A tall man dressed in a black suit and dark sunglasses stood leaning against a tree. He appeared to be watching them. A body guard?

And on the ground next to the man, was a dog. Her dog! It was Patrick!

A huge grin lit up on Lana's face. Her eyes filled with tears. She was in shock. She didn't even care if Sanjit saw her crying. She couldn't believe it. Patrick, her faithful dog that stuck with her throughout the FAYZ. She hadn't seen him in months. And Virtue, Bowie, Peace, and Pixie. She had missed them all.

"We all missed you," Sanjit said.

At that point Lana started sobbing. For the past year Lana had no idea where Sanjit was or if he was even alive. And now here was here. He brought Patrick. He brought Virtue. Bowie. Peace. Pixie.

"I wish I could see them all up close," Lana said through her tears. She wiped snot from her nose.

Sanjit grinned at her. "That's part of the surprise. We're getting you out of here."

Lana's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I'm busting you out."

"That's not possible."

"Sure it is. You've seen movies, right?"

"We'll get caught and then you maybe you will wind up in here with me. Or in Juvy."

Sanjit shook his head. "We won't get caught."

"I'm checked on every twenty minutes."

Lana looked out the window again. Then, in the distance, just beyond the gates that surrounded the hospital. Flashing cameras everywhere.

Paparazzi.

She pointed them out to Sanjit. He cursed.

"They must have followed me here. Damn!"

"Looks like your plan backfired," Lana said.

"No. No way. I'm not leaving you to rot here."

"So what's the plan then?"

Sanjit's face scrunched in concentration. He thought for a minute. Then, "Okay. When are the bedtime hours here?"

"Bedtime hours?" Lana laughed dryly. "You mean when we all go beddy-boo?"

Sanjit grabbed both of Lana's arms gently. Lana felt a shock go through her body. It was the first time she had touched him in so long. Well, except for when she hit him earlier. She quickly jerked away from his grasp.

"Sorry," he said.

Lana just nodded. "Lights out is at nine."

"Okay. I'll come back after nine then and kidnap you." He smiled a little.

"Are you retarded? You can't come back after lights out. No one comes in. No one goes out."

"I'll find a way in. Trust me." He grinned.

Lana looked at him and felt her insides twisting. This couldn't be real. He couldn't really be here.

This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.

Dreaming. Dreaming.

Lana squeezed her eyes shut.

_Don't fall apart_, she told herself.

She opened her eyes and saw Sanjit looking worriedly at her.

She shook her head slowly. She said, "This is all just happening too fast. It's too good to be true. I'm trying to wrap my head around this all..."

Sanjit sighed and nodded his head like he understood. "I know it must be weird for you. I show up here out of nowhere like a ninja-"

Lana cut him off. "That's the point. You can't just show up here after a year like nothing's changed."

"You mean you don't want me to be the Edward to your Bella again?" He asked. There was that dorky grin again.

"Ugh. Sanjit, this is serious!"

"I know," he said, serious again. "I know you've changed. I know I've changed. I just think we should get to know each other again. After all we were in love once."

Lana barked a laugh at this. "In _love_? You think we were in love?"

"Yes. We were."

Lana stopped laughing. She didn't know how to respond to this. There was a time when she had very strong feelings for Sanjit. In the FAYZ when they were together, he understood that she was messed up because of the gaiaphage. He understood that and always gave her space when she needed it. And when she needed him... he was always there. But after the FAYZ Lana buried those feelings she had for him; never planning to dig them up ever again.

But here he was, a year later. It was like he was standing there with a shovel, ready to dig up those forgotten feelings himself.

Lana would not give him that power.

"Look, I appreciate everything you're doing..." Lana started. "I just don't know if this is a good idea."

"Okay, look," Sanjit said. "I know you're furious with me right now. But I'm getting you out of here tonight. You deserve that, Lana. You can be mad at me all you want, but I know that you want out of here. Obviously your parents aren't going to bail you out anytime soon." Lana flinched as he said this. She knew it was true though, that they _were_ going to leave her to rot in here.

"I know you want to see Patrick," Sanjit continued. "I know you miss him. And Bowie, Virtue, Peace and Pixie have been dying to see you again. I know you miss them too. You're a tough girl, Lana, I know that. But you need people to care about you right now."

"And you care?" Lana asked angrily.

"Yes, of course I do. That's why I'm here. We all do. Even our body guard, Eduardo seemed worried about you. I told him I was coming to rescue you." Sanjit gave a small smile.

Lana was about to respond when one of the nurses walked into the room. "Visiting hours are over," she said sternly, shooting a dirty look at Sanjit. She was obviously annoyed that Sanjit coming here had caused a bit of a scene.

_But it was mostly my fault for losing my temper_, Lana thought.

The nurse remained standing in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest. It was obvious she was not going to be leaving the room until Sanjit agreed to follow her out.

Lana and Sanjit shared a quick look in silence.

Sanjit turned so he was facing away from the nurse and mouthed the words _ten o'clock_. Lana nodded and Sanjit walked across the room to the door.

The nurse left the room when she saw Sanjit was going to follow her. But before Sanjit left the room completely, Lana said, "Sanjit."

He turned around before exiting through the door. "Yes?"

"Don't ever refer to me as Bella from Twilight again."

Sanjit just grinned and then left Lana standing alone in the room.

* * *

Sorry it took me two weeks to add the second chapter. My computer had some kind of virus, but now it's all cleaned up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added the first chapter. It really means a lot to me that people are reading this story! :) The next chapter we will get some of Sanjit's point of view. What do you think his plan will be to break Lana out of the hospital? Hmm... ;)


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